Snohomish candidates tout past experience

By Leslie Moriarty

Herald Writer

SNOHOMISH — A veteran councilman and a former police chief and county sheriff will face each other in the race to gain the Position 7 seat on the Snohomish City Council.

Incumbent Chris Lundvall faces Patrick Murphy in the Nov. 6 general election. It is the only one of four council races that is contested. Council members make $200 per month.

Lundvall, a local business owner, said he wants to retain his seat so he can continue to address the issues of traffic and growth in Snohomish.

He sees the Bickford corridor as a possible place where the city can grow and gain a better business property tax base.

"But annexation always has to be a balancing act," he said. "The city can’t grow beyond what it can serve."

Lundvall said he is concerned about possible budget problems. Declining building fees and sales tax revenues may mean as much as a half-million dollars that the council will need to cut from the 2002 budget.

"It’s painful for everybody," he said.

He said one thing the city has done is promote that it is a good place to do business.

"The time it takes to get building permits here is half the time as in Everett and a quarter the time in the county," he said.

He supports revisions of the city’s building and zoning codes, and he supports the addition of advance life support services in the fire district that serves the city.

He said he believes he’s the candidate for the job because of his experience.

"I’ve been doing this for a long time," he said. "People know I will be honest with them, and if I don’t agree, I’ll tell them so and point them in the direction of another council member who might be more sympathetic."

Patrick Murphy has been a resident of Snohomish for more than 20 years, and he said he believes voters should elect him because the council needs new blood.

Murphy served the city 14 years as police chief and also was appointed to a term as Snohomish County sheriff. He then ran for sheriff, but lost to Rick Bart.

"I have new ideas, and I have a broad background in municipal government experience that I can put to use."

Murphy said he would like to see the Bickford corridor expanded to bring in new property taxes. He said he wants to see more communication.

"I would like the city to have a newsletter and communicate better with the citizens," he said.

He also wants to see 24-hour coverage in the local police department, as it was when he was chief.

"Office staff has been cut," he said. "I would like to evaluate that and see if we can’t get back to having a live person always available."

He said he knows there are budget pressures and is ready to face the challenge of providing services with diminishing resources.

"The economy in general is troubled," he said. "But there are ways to sustain services if we are just more creative and useful with our resources."

You can call Herald Writer Leslie Moriarty at 425-339-3436

or send e-mail to moriarty@heraldnet.com.

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